Vietnam slams China for issuing stamps featuring illegitimate sovereignty claims

By VnExpress December 13, 2016 | 07:06 am PT

An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged on-going land reclamation by China on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines, May 11, 2015. Photo by Reuters/Ritchie B. Tongo/Pool

The latest opposition came just one day after Vietnam condemned China's illegal ceremonies in the flashpoint waters.

Vietnam has hit back at China for issuing a set of postage stamps featuring five lighthouses they have built in the East Sea, the Vietnamese reference for the South China Sea.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications said the postage stamps were a serious violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, and goes against the Universal Postal Union Treaty.

Vietnam Post has demanded that China Post respect the historical truths and withdraw the set of stamps. It also asked the latter not to repeat the action, according to a statement posted on the Vietnamese ministry’s website.

Vietnam has full legal grounds and historical evidence to prove its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa archipelagos, the statement said.

China Post issued a set of postage stamps on October 28 featuring five lighthouses located in the East Sea, the People’s Daily reported on November 7.

The latest opposition came just one day after Vietnam on Monday slammed China for holding a so-called “70th anniversary of the recovery” of the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in the East Sea.

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh said the Chinese move could not change the fact that Vietnam has indisputable sovereignty over the islands.

Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that the Chinese Navy on December 8 held ceremonies to commemorate the so-called “70th anniversary of the recovery” of the two archipelagoes.

In 1974, taking advantage of the withdrawal of the American troops from the Vietnam War, China invaded the Paracels. A brief but bloody naval battle with the forces of the then U.S.-backed Republic of Vietnam ensued.

China has illegally occupied the islands ever since, but a post-1975 united Vietnam has never relinquished its sovereignty.

The Spratlys are claimed in part or whole by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

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